Archive for the ‘personal’ Category

Permablitz

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Our family volunteered last Sunday at our very first Permablitz and it was amazing. If you have never heard of Permablitz check out: blitzbrisbane.org. I think nearly 100 people turned up to volunteer their time to help build gardens for the school children of Seven Hills state school. At a guess more than half of them were not parents from the school, they were just passionate permaculturists that desire to see as many people as possible growing their own food.
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Posted in design, environment, family, friends, inspiring, local community, peace, personal, social responsibility | No Comments »

All Of Us Together

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

So we opened on Tuesday and the response over the first two days has been amazing. A really lovely experience. So many of our wonderful customers from the last Paddington shop have been in to visit us that it’s as though we only shut last week and simply re-opened this week in a new spot. When in fact it will be 3 years in April since we left Paddington.
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Posted in customers, design, family, friends, inspiring, local community, personal, urban grind | 22 Comments »

TEDx Brisbane next weekend.

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

So TEDx Brisbane is almost here and they have just released the Speaker List and it is a cracker. This is going to be a great TED event and right in our back yard. Very sad if you are a TED fan that missed out. I can sympathize with you as Urban Grind in partnership with Di Bella Coffee is sponsoring the event with free coffees for attendees which means that I will be lucky to see any of the talks on the day. I am honoured to be able to support such an event as this but have you seen that speaker list? It is going to be an inspiring day. And we have Carl Lindgren & Paul Fairweather to thank. They have done an amazing job putting it all together.

If you do have a ticket. Be sure to get there early and register first. Once registered you can head down to the Ideas Worth Spreading Tent and get a free coffee. Coffee will also be offered free for both morning tea and lunch time breaks.

To get in the mood for TEDx you could check out this amazing talk by Aimee Mullins. Such an amazing women.

“Adversity is just change that we have not adapted to yet.”

Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity

Posted in alternative media, design, environment, friends, inspiring, local community, personal, urban grind | 2 Comments »

Surprise!

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

I just read a short story about throwing a surprise birthday party on a train. It made me so happy that my eyes watered and I wanted to share it with you too. The idea of strangers in a small room like a train carriage reminded me of Urban Grind – Paddington and West End. I am going to suggest it before you do. Urban Grind on a train carriage could be very cool. Anyway, one of the things I always tried to do at Urban Grind was to start conversations. My best Urban Grind days were the ones where I could stand back and look at the room and everyone was so engrossed in conversation that it was noisy and I didn’t matter. And honestly the worst days were the ones where the room would be full but virtually silent – uncomfortable. No energy, lifeless.

Surprise! by Improv Everywhere. Well worth the read.

Posted in design, family, friends, funny, inspiring, local community, peace, personal, urban grind | No Comments »

Happy New Year 2010

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

For a long time now I have been very proud that Urban Grind has been successful but for longer than many might realise I have also been aware that Urban Grind has been unsustainable. In retrospect only, that would seem like things for Urban Grind are not good but in fact they are better than ever. Urban Grind is in my heart and if you know me well enough you will know that it has been a personal journey for me, not just a business. And it’s not over yet.

So as you might be aware by now Urban Grind New Farm closed it’s doors at the end of 2009 and will not be re-opening at the beggining of 2010. It’s time for a break and a regrouping. In simple terms this is not the end of Urban Grind. It is going to take us a little while to regroup but we are working on our return and will be back better than ever.

I have learnt a lot from my mistakes over the years and along the way I have discovered other directions in which I want to take Urban Grind. I can’t wait to re-open Urban Grind and show you what I am talking about. In the meantime I will keep this website/blog going. I will also be working at the Di Bella Factory which is going to be great. Obviously I love Di Bella coffee as I have been serving it for about 8 years now. I also have a good friendship and a great respect for Philip Di Bella so I look forward to working more closely with him.

For me Urban Grind is more than just trying to make great coffee. Of course that is really important as anything less would be just embarrassing, but for me Urban Grind is a way of life and an experience that I want to keep having. Only one thing has made this experience as wonderful as it has been and that is people, and the amazing relationships we were able to have with them. From the single moments with a stranger that have taught me life lessons, to the life long friends we made, Urban Grind has been about the interaction of people – community. To all in this community I am most grateful for your help, your willingness to interact, your bravery to be yourselves and to challenge yourselves. There would not be enough pixels on this computer to properly thank everyone that has meant something to me over these years. But to Rachel my loving partner, Urban Grind would have never been without you. To Adz, Brendan, Carl, my brother Dan & Sophie, in particular – Thank you. To so many more – Thank you.

Now in looking forward, lets keep in touch.
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email – it’s in the picture

Posted in customers, family, friends, local community, personal, urban grind | 11 Comments »